summer skies
by cleopatra moon
Summary: A fanfic about the Shohoku guys + an original character. what happens when mitsui's cousin comes for a visit? r&r minna-san!
1. Prologue

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Author's Notes:

This is my first fanfic, and I don't really think that I'm doing a good job, I mean, some of the stories here are simply great! Anyway, this story is NON-yaoi, so if you don't like this sort of story, then I'm sorry. I lurrve Rukawa, so you can be sure that he will be one of the major characters. J Oh well, just read the story and I hope you'll enjoy it!

Disclaimers:

I do not owe Slam Dunk, or anything to do with it. Slam Dunk is created by Inoue Takehiko, but… I'm hoping to owe the manga and some posters!! At least, I'm hoping that my sister will buy some of the Slam Dunk stuff, then I can "borrow" them. ^_^ 

Notes:

= means thoughts!

Prologue

Tired and grumpy, Mitsui trudged into his house after a particularly exhausting basketball practice. His knee hurt and all he wanted to do was to collapse facedown onto his bed. Slowly, painfully, he made his way up the stairs to his bedroom.

*Ring-ring! Ring-ring! *

Sighing heavily, he walked as quickly as he could (which wasn't very fast) to grab his phone. =this had better be good= As Mitsui entered his bedroom, he tripped over a stack of magazines (basketball magazines, what else?) and fell on his butt. Rubbing his sore butt and cursing, Mitsui picked up the phone.

"HELLO?" he growled into the phone. 

"Hisa-kun, remember me?" A sweet voice chirped into the phone. =who in the world is that? = Only one person called him that - his younger cousin … but, he had lost contact with her ever since she moved away.

"Helllooooo?" Clearly, the person at the other end of the phone was getting impatient. 

"Hisa-kun, Daijoubu Hisa-kun? Wait, don't tell me that you've already forgotten me!" 

"Saemi-chan??"

"Yokatta! You haven't forgotten me after all!"

Stunned, Mitsui could only manage a very confused "huh?" He could not believe that she was actually contacting him after so long, she had never replied any of his letters. He remembered how hurt he had been when she had moved away to USA with her parents, they had always been close as kids even though they were 4 years apart.

As though she could read his mind, Saemi spoke up. "Hisa-kun, don't be mad at me… I heard that you wrote to me weekly for the first year but I never received any of your letters! Because of Otousan's job we had to move around a lot. In fact, I don't think that there's one country that I haven't been to."

=Japan, that's one country that you haven't been to in a long time= His excitement at the phone call quickly cancelled out the anger he felt. They talked a while, to catch up on what had happened in the past 11 years.

" I really have to go now Hisa-kun, I've been on the phone for half-an-hour and these long distance calls are really expensive, you know. Let's just say that you'll receive a VERY pleasant surprise in the next 2 weeks… Oh no! Okasan's calling me, Ja ne!"

"Ja ne!"

As Mitsui leaned against his bed, he wondered what the surprise was. Sleepily he rubbed his eyes. = that phone call was worth it =

Ookay, that's the end of the prologue, I hope that it was alright… ^__^ Reviews are very welcome, I'd like to see what you thought of it… So… go ahead and give a review! Just don't write nasty stuff or my heart will be broken! (just kidding!) 


	2. Their first meeting

Authors notes: 

Chapter one is here and as I've said before, please r&r. My story is moving quite slowly, but please don't mind it. I'm really busy with homework right now *ugh* holidays are not really holidays, thanks to my sadistic teachers… *sighs* 

Disclaimers: 

Slam Dunk belongs to Inoue Takehiko, blah blah blah, I don't owe it and I don't mean to infringe the copyright or anything so please don't sue me. Read the story! ^___^

Chap 1

Two weeks passed.

Mitsui had already given up on the "surprise" that Saemi had promised. = She's such a liar, never keeps her word = It was too bad, for he was really looking forward to it.

Pedaling fast so as to avoid being late for school, Mitsui reached the school gates just as the first bell rang. = just made it in time = Catching sight of his fellow Shohoku basketball teammates, he parked his bicycle and walked towards them.

"Micchy! You're almost late again!" Hanamichi cried out after seeing him. 

"Do'aho." Hanamichi's foxy eyed rival said his usual one-liner. (Or should that be one word?)

"Yeah Hanamichi, you weren't very early yourself." Miyagi stated, smirking as usual. 

They all made their way to class (sleep time for Rukawa) and Mitsui walked with Akagi and Kogure to their Year 3 classrooms. Since Mitsui felt that they had time to spare, (which teacher would dare to scold the stars of the basketball team?) they walked at a leisurely pace, talking about the upcoming games as they walked. Suddenly, a voice cut through the air.

"Chotto matte Hisa-kun!" 

Stunned, Mitsui turned back and amidst the crowd he saw… Saemi. (who else?) Actually, she was very easy to spot. She was standing on her tiptoes and stretched out to her full height. Besides, she had one arm above her head and was waving madly, with a wide smile plastered on her face.

(Mitsui, Kogure and Akagi all wore matching sweat drops)

Saemi quickly ran over and dropping her books, she enveloped Mitsui in a huge bear hug. = So… this was her surprise? = Regaining his composure =, Mitsui hugged her back and stepped away to get a better view of her. She had grown a lot taller since she had last seen her, obviously not as tall as him though, he estimated that he stood at least a good 30cm taller than her. She had always been short for her age. 

Kogure and Akagi stood silently, wide-mouthed and still continued to sweatdrop. It was not everyday that some girl came up to fling herself at Mitsui. He seemed to know her, though they were pretty sore that they had never seen her before. 

"Oniichan! You forgot to take this!" Haruko came running, waving a book in the air. She too stopped and stared at Mitsui and the foreign girl, whom she guessed to be her age.

"Ahem!" Mitsui cleared his throat awkwardly and proudly introduced her to his friends, plus several curious onlookers. (Everyone knew that their teachers had a reputation of being late, thus, there was no need to hurry off to class) "This in Saemi-chan, my younger cousin…" = what is she doing here? = 

"Konichiwa! My parents are working in Japan and that's why I'm here. I'm going to be studying and Shohoku for a while." Mitsui's heart dropped. = only for a while, I wish she could stay longer =

Smiling evilly, she continued. "Hisa-kun, guess which KIND souls are loaning out a few rooms for my family to stay, including their son's big room?" 

= Whaat?! First his parents had conveniently forgotten to tell him about their "guests" arrival, next they loan out his room? HIS room? = Mitsui turned into chibi mode and glared evilly down at his cousin, "We WILL settled this when we get home…" Saemi looked at the mile-wide smirk on his face and grinned to herself. =same old Hisa-kun, nobody can force him to do what he doesn't want to do. He has absolutely no intention of giving up his room to me. Well… I'm the guest AND I'm a girl, I'm sure that Uncle and Auntie won't make ME sleep on the couch =

*RRRIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNGG!* The second bell rang. To his left and right people were scuttling off to class.

Akagi (who had been silent the whole time) immediately took charge of the situation, with his fabulous leadership skills. (He isn't captain of the basketball team for nothing you know) "Haruko, you bring Saemi to her class. Mitsui off to class, wd can't have you getting bad remarks from your teachers, it'll disgrace the basketball club. Hanamichi and Rukawa do that enough already, don't add to it. Kogure, off with me to class!"

Saemi looked at Gori with a mix of astonishment and admiration. He looked like one of the army commandos that she saw in the movies. (Except maybe scarier). =I can't decide if he is a gorilla or a human = She sweatdropped and nodded. They went off their separate ways. "Ja ne minna-san!" Haruko called out cheerily. She smiled at Saemi and they walked off, chatting happily. They were starting to be friends already.

Yay! First chapter done! So… should she go to Hanamichi's class or Rukawa's class? I have no ideas… Please give me your suggestions! 


	3. Class 1-7, Sakuragi the tensai?

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A/N: Konichiwa minna-san! I¡¯ve finally plopped down in front of the computer to type the next chapter! Actually, I¡¯ve been extra hardworking ¡­ ^__^ I couldn¡¯t decide whether to let Saemi enter Rukawa¡¯s class or Hanamichi¡¯s class, dakara, I¡¯ve decided to write both! This way, you can decide which version you want to read! For all of you who are expecting the typical girl-meets-boy, girl-falls-in-love ¨Cwith-boy story, you¡¯ll be quite disappointed! I still don¡¯t know how this fic will turn out so pls r&r! Suggestions welcome¡­

Disclaimers: Sakuragi and gang are NOT owned by me, (unfortunately) I think we all know who Slam Dunk is owned by so pls don¡¯t sue me! I¡¯m just a penniless girl who happens to love Slam Dunk. ^__^

Chap 2 (Hanamichi¡¯s class)

¡°Here you are, class 1-7, I¡¯ll meet you after class and we can go to watch basketball practice later!¡± Waving, Haruko turned and ran off to her own class, 1-1.

= I wish that we could be in the same class, than at least I would have a friend. How I hate this! I¡¯m _always_ the new girl¡­= Scrunching up her eyes so as to prevent the hot tears from spilling out Saemi took a deep breath and tried to appear calm and collected, just as anyone would expect one of Japan¡¯s wealthiest man¡¯s daughter to look. Early on in life, Saemi had been taught the hard way that the only way to have self-confidence was to look confident and to be icy-cool. 

Being small-sized for her age, she had been picked on a lot when she had first started school in America, besides she was Japanese and was looked down upon by some of the insensitive kids. She had returned from school with tears streaming down her face so many times and it had been her father who had comforted her. However, he had no time for her now, it seemed that she was only second to money.

Planting a confident smile on her face, she stepped into class as the teacher was taking attendance. ¡°Konichiwa sensei, I¡¯m the new student, Wantanabe Saemi.¡± 

Her teacher, a decidedly unfriendly looking little man with glasses perched on the bridge of his nose stared back at her. ¡°Sit there.¡± he ordered, pointing to the empty seat somewhere near the back of the classroom.

As she walked to her seat, she could hear a lot of whispers. ¡°Isn¡¯t she the daughter of Wantanabe¨Csan, the famous movie producer?¡±

¡°That¡¯s why she looks so familiar, she has had some parts in movies before right?¡±

¡°She¡¯s even more kawaii in person!¡±

Looking straight ahead, Saemi refused to acknowledge any of their comments. That was one of the reasons that she was so close to Hisa-kun, he had known her way before her father had hit the big time, before they¡¯d became famous. He liked her for herself, not just because she was rich or famous. Besides, she¡¯d stopped acting for quite some time to concentrate on her studies, she was quite behind in some classes, though she was never in danger of ever failing anything.

As she plopped down into her seat, the redhead next to her turned towards her and opened his mouth, about to say something.

Saemi prepared herself for the usual barrage of questions.

She was totally unprepared for what he said though. ¡°Ano, if in a basketball match, Rukawa scores 26 points, how many points must I score to have double the points?¡±

She stared at him, mouth agape, what an easy question! Flipping through her textbook, she looked for the maths problem.

¡°Matte, erm¡­ what¡¯s your name?¡±

¡°Sakuragi Hanamichi!¡± he said proudly.

Raising an eyebrow, she continued flipping.

¡°No, no¡­ the problem isn¡¯t found in the textbook!¡±

¡°Oh! Anyway the answer is 52.¡±

Rubbing his head Hanamichi uttered ¡°Kuso!¡±

¡°What¡¯s the matter, Hana-kun?¡± Seeing a light blush spread over his face, she quickly amended what she¡¯d just said, ¡°I mean Sakuragi-kun¡± It was too confusing, after spending time in USA, she got too used to calling people by their first names.

Suddenly, it dawned on her, ¡°that was a real life situation right?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a basketball player aren¡¯t you?¡±

¡°Hai! Orewa Sakuragi Hanamichi, tensai basketball man!¡± He sang out very loudly, causing many heads to swivel around.

= What a do¡¯aho = Saemi thought disgustedly, not realizing that she had said that aloud. 

¡°Nani? What did you say?!¡±

¡°Do¡¯aho.¡±

Hanamichi looked all ready to hit her but Saemi gave him her most winning smile and her wide-eyed oh-so-innocent look. It seemed to work for he smiled and continued giving her a description of his genius basketball abilities. = He seems nice enough, though on the daft side, and he¡¯s really puffed up! = Ignoring him, she turned her attention back to the sensei and started doing the maths problems that they were assigned.

Through him, she got to know Yohei, whom she thought was decidedly smarter. When they were alone, she whispered, ¡°how do you manage to put up with him?¡±

¡°We keep his ego in check¡­¡± He said sheepishly.

¡°How?¡±

¡°Well, there¡¯s nothing a good hit on the head won¡¯t solve¡­¡±

¡°You fight? I thought that you¡¯re very close?¡± = I cannot believe that he enjoys fighting, he seems like such a nice guy, well, maybe I was wrong =

¡°Daijobu Saemi-chan?¡± Yohei was peering at her and he looked concerned.

¡°Oh! Its nothing really, I¡¯m just a little stunned. I once had a friend who was badly beaten up by a gang just because she refused to date the gang leader. It was terrible, I visited her in hospital and she was so wounded, puffy eyes, broken nose, the works¡­¡± She shuddered at the memory.

Yohei looked really puzzled when she said that. ¡°Aren¡¯t you Mitsui¡¯s girlfriend? I thought you¡¯d be used to fights.¡±

A light blush spread across her face and she pouted. How could he think that? He was her cousin after all and what did he mean about the being used to fights? In her memory although Hisa-kun wasn¡¯t exactly the a good student he had not been one to pick fights, basketball was his life and he devoted a huge amount of time to it. 

When she told Yohei about that he looked shocked, ¡°I think that you¡¯d be better off finding it out for yourself.¡±

Just then Hanamchi came back and that was it, case closed.

He was practically beaming with pride for finally writing the correct answer to a maths sum on the blackboard. No, he had not grown a brain overnight, he had actually brought Saemi¡¯s notebook up and copied the answer off. Glaring suspiciously at him, the skinny maths teacher pointed at him.

¡°Sakuragi, your maths has really improved.¡±

Nodding happily, Hanamichi burst into peals of laughter. 

RRRIIIINNNNGGGGGGG!

At the sound of the bell, all the students stood up and after hastily bidding the teacher goodbye, they ran out of the classroom. 

¡°Saemi-chan! Sakuragi-kun, Yohei-kun!¡± Haruko came running towards them, with two of her friends trailing behind. ¡°Hayaku! Let¡¯s go to watch the basketball pr¡­¡±

~^@^~

Done with yet another chapter! *Smiles proudly* Well, please read and review, it won¡¯t take much of your time¡­ J To all those who reviewed,_ thank you all sooo much! _Want to find out what happens? Me too! I will try to write faster but no promises, School work is really killing me! Maths is unspeakably tough! *goes swirly eyed* Ja!

¡¡

¡¡

¡¡

¡¡


	4. class 1-10, the rather sleepy kitsune

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A/N: Konichiwa minna-san! I¡¯ve finally plopped down in front of the computer to type the next chapter! Actually, I¡¯ve been extra hardworking ¡­ ^__^ I couldn¡¯t decide whether to let Saemi enter Rukawa¡¯s class or Hanamichi¡¯s class, dakara, I¡¯ve decided to write both! This way, you can decide which version you want to read! For all of you who are expecting the typical girl-meets-boy, girl-falls-in-love ¨Cwith-boy story, you¡¯ll be quite disappointed! I still don¡¯t know how this fic will turn out so pls r&r! Suggestions welcome¡­

Disclaimers: Rukawa and gang are NOT owned by me, (unfortunately) I think we all know who Slam Dunk is owned by so pls don¡¯t sue me! I¡¯m just a penniless girl who happens to love Slam Dunk. ^__^

Chap 2-2 (Rukawa¡¯s class)

¡°Here you are, class 1-10, I¡¯ll meet you after class and we can go to watch basketball practice later!¡± Waving, Haruko turned and ran off to her own class, 1-1.

= I wish that we could be in the same class, than at least I would have a friend. How I hate this! I¡¯m _always_ the new girl¡­= Scrunching up her eyes so as to prevent the hot tears from spilling out Saemi took a deep breath and tried to appear calm and collected, just as anyone would expect one of Japan¡¯s wealthiest man¡¯s daughter to look. Early on in life, Saemi had been taught the hard way that the only way to have self-confidence was to look confident and to be icy-cool. 

Being small-sized for her age, she had been picked on a lot when she had first started school in America, besides she was Japanese and was looked down upon by some of the insensitive kids. She had returned from school with tears streaming down her face so many times and it had been her father who had comforted her. However, he had no time for her now, it seemed that she was only second to money.

Planting a confident smile on her face, she stepped into class as the teacher was taking attendance. ¡°Konichiwa sensei, I¡¯m the new student, Wantanabe Saemi.¡± 

Her teacher, a decidedly unfriendly looking little man with glasses perched on the bridge of his nose stared back at her. ¡°Sit there.¡± he ordered, pointing to the empty seat somewhere near the back of the classroom.

As she walked to her seat, she could hear a lot of whispers. ¡°Isn¡¯t she the daughter of Wantanabe¨Csan, the famous movie producer?¡±

¡°That¡¯s why she looks so familiar, she has had some parts in movies before right?¡±

¡°She¡¯s even more kawaii in person!¡±

Looking straight ahead, Saemi refused to acknowledge any of their comments. That was one of the reasons that she was so close to Hisa-kun, he had known her way before her father had hit the big time, before they¡¯d became famous. He liked her for herself, not just because she was rich or famous. Besides, she¡¯d stopped acting for quite some time to concentrate on her studies, she was quite behind in some classes, though she was never in danger of ever failing anything.

She plopped down onto her seat, she noticed the sleeping figure next to her. = Are all students in Japan like that? = She sweatdropped. A bubble of drool escaped his mouth, and Saemi watched in horrified fascination as he continued drooling on the table. = How gross! Doesn¡¯t the teacher mind? = Sneaking a glance at the teacher, who was evilly glaring at Rukawa, the teacher was obviously unhappy.

=How come no one wakes him up? Eeurgh, I wonder who cleans the mess up on his table¡­ = Just then, she thought of something, =what if no one ever cleans it?! = Shuddering, she used poked him gently with her finger. When he didn¡¯t respond, she poked even harder. = Is he dead or what? Doesn¡¯t he respond to anything? =

Cautiously, she reached over and tugged his hair hard. Suddenly, he jerked his head up, shooting her the nastiest glare she had ever seen. Not to be outdone, she glared back at him.

¡°Oh, you¡¯re alive¡­¡± 

¡° I won¡¯t forgive anyone who disturbs my sleep!¡±

Just as he was about to give her a punch, Rukawa found a piece of tissue being waved in front of his face. He blinked, trying to get used to the light. Ripping the offending piece of tissue away, he got a look at the new girl next to him. Saemi smiled angelically. She was pretty sure that He would not hit her, just because she was a girl. She was right, as Rukawa ignored her and went back to sleep.

Studying his sleepimg figure, Saemi came to a conclusion. =Really cute, but sleeps waaay too much. I wonder what he¡¯s like? = Prodding him with her pen she decided to ask him for the solution to her maths problem.

¡°Do you have the answer to question fifteen?¡±

¡°No.¡±

= How rude! = She decided to try again.

¡°Ano, watashi wa Wantanabe Saemi, you are?¡±

Silence.

Just as Saemi was about to shout at him for being so rude, he answered in a steady voice.

¡°Rukawa Kaede.¡±

¡°So¡­ Kaede-kun, do you know the answer to question fifteen?¡±

¡°Don¡¯t call me Kaede.¡±

¡°Gomen na sai, its just that in USA I¡¯m used to calling people by their first names.¡±

¡°USA?¡±

¡°Hai, I used to live there.¡±

¡°Used to live there?¡±

¡°I lived there for five years.¡±

¡°Five years?¡±

= First, he won¡¯t talk to me at all, next, he repeats everything that I say, _what _is wrong with him?! =

¡°Stop repeating everything that I say!¡±

¡°Repeating?¡±

¡°Aaaaahhh!¡±

The teacher stared at Saemi with the beady little eyes of his. ¡°Is something wrong?!¡±

Saemi blushed and looked down. = Its all that Rukawa¡¯s fault, now the sensei thinks that I¡¯m a troublemaker = 

¡°Are the basketball players in USA good?¡±

Saemi stared at him. =Is he actually voluntarily talking to me? = She looked at him warily, as if expecting him to grow another head at any moment. He did not seem at all like the talkative kind to her.

¡°Erm, they¡¯re erm, quite good.¡± Biting her tongue, she looked down, irritated with herself for losing all power of speech.

¡°How good are they? Better than the players in Japan? How much better?¡±

= He is really persistent = She told him what she knew and so it went, him asking questions and Saemi answering.

Throughout their conversation, Saemi could hear many of the girls gossiping.

¡°I thought she¡¯s Mitsui¡¯s girlfriend? How come she¡¯s flirting with Rukawa?¡±

¡°Waaah! How come Rukawa¡¯s talking to her? I¡¯ve been trying to get his attention for soooo long!¡±

¡°Not fair! Rukawa¡¯s mine and mine alone!¡±

Saemi sweatdropped, what was Rukawa, a major star in school? I seemed as though every girl idolised him. = Gossip certainly flies fast around here = Turning back to Rukawa, she was not surprised to find him asleep. The only time he perked up was when she had spoken to him about basketball. Glancing at the clock, she sighed. Time was crawling by. Her ears pricked up at one of the comments.

¡°She really seems to go for guys who know how to fight.¡±

= What¡¯s that supposed to mean? Rukawa can fight? It looks to me like he only knows how to sleep! I know they think that I¡¯m with Mitsui so does that mean that Hisa-kun fights too? Impossible, I¡¯ve got to clear this up with him later. =

RIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNGGG!

Gathering her books Saemi walked out, amidst the students eagerly rushing out. Spotting Haruko, she waved happily, a smile lighting up her face. 

¡°Saemi-chan!¡± Haruko came running towards them, with two of her friends trailing behind. ¡°Hayaku! Let¡¯s go to watch the basketball pr¡­¡±

~^@^~

Done with yet another chapter! *Smiles proudly* Well, please read and review, it won¡¯t take much of your time¡­ J To all those who reviewed,_ thank you all sooo much! _Want to find out what happens? Me too! I will try to write faster but no promises, School work is really killing me! Maths is unspeakably tough! *goes swirly eyed* Ja!


	5. After the match...

A/N: *yawns* Somehow, every chapter seems to get harder to finish, I always start of very enthusiastically, but as I go on my enthusiasm kind of fizzles away. Oh well, I'm rather proud of my determination and as a result *cue drumroll* another chapter is up! 

Disclaimer: Slam Dunk is not mine, has never been mine, and will sadly never be mine. For someone who is too computer illiterate to design a website and yet is a big fan of Slam Dunk, my choices are limited so I write fics, don't sue me!

Suddenly, Haruko's head swiveled in another direction, and she completely forgot what she was about to say. "Rukawa-kun…" 

Saemi's eyes followed the direction Haruko was looking at and locked themselves on an exceptionally tall and dark-haired student. Haruko's eyes had turned into hearts and both Sakuragi and Youhei sweatdropped. = True, he _is_ good-looking, but she doesn't have to drool all over him! =

"Rukawa! Rukawa!" 3 girls appeared out of nowhere and started to fawn over him as they walked, struggling to keep up with his long strides. However, Rukawa paid no attention to them, not even so much as glance in their direction. Saemi sneaked a look at Haruko out of the corner of her eye. Poor Sakuragi was waving his hands up and down in front of her face in a vain attempt to snap her out of her stupor.

= Hmm, I spot trouble. Unrequited love on the horizon = An idea started forming in her head. =Let me see, Hanamichi likes Haruko, Haruko likes Rukawa and Rukawa likes? = Playing matchmaker was one of her favourite pastimes. However, things were slightly more complicated in this situation. Should she help Hanamichi or should she help Haruko find their true love? = Hisa-kun is right, I watch too way too many drama serials = Still, she was determined to "help".

Mitsui changed into his playing attire and started to warm-up. = I wonder if Saemi is going to stay back to watch me play? The last time we played together I was so short I couldn't possibly do a dunk. She'll be so impressed now = Smiling at the memory, he imagined how shocked she would be to find out how he had improved.

They held a friendly match with the year ones and the year two's against the year threes. = We're going to win for sure, with me in the team = That thought simultaneously popped into 4 people's heads at the same time. Wearing a confident smirk, Sakuragi, Mitsui, Rukawa and Miyagi stepped onto court.

A/N: I really cannot describe how they play basketball, believe me I tried. So… I'm just gonna skip the basketball match

"Ha… Ha… Haruko-chan!" Rubbing his head and wearing a sheepish smirk, Hanamichi turned to Haruko, he was dying to hear her congratulate him on his wonderful performance. As usual, Haruko, oblivious that she was boosting his already swollen ego, smiled sweetly up at him. 

"Sakuragi-kun honto sugoi ne! That dunk you made was wonderful!" 

What ensued caused Saemi to cringe and cover her ears. = I didn't know that it was humanly possible to laugh that loudly, and horribly too! = Noticing her pained expression, Ayako giggled and leaned over. "Saemi-chan, if you think that his laughter is bad, you ought to hear his singing!" Unable to control herself, Ayako burst into infectious giggles, causing Saemi to laugh as well.

Miyagi's finely tuned ears caught the sound of his beloved Ayako's laughter. "Aya-chan…" He blushed and smiled that stupid smile which he always wore around her. Suddenly, Saemi was aware of a hand on her shoulder, turning around, she saw Mitsui smirking down at her. = Basketball is the one thing that makes him truly happy, he's always been like that since young =

Grinning her encouragement, she gave him a bear hug, "Hisa-kun, you played exceptionally well today, your 3-point shot has really improved ne?" However, she quickly grimaced and stepped back, frantically brushing perspiration from her arms. "Ewww, Hisa-kun, you could have told me how sticky you were!" Spotting a towel on the bench, she grabbed it and started cleaning herself with it. Across the court, Hanamichi was squeezing his sweat from his T-shirt, seeing Saemi using his towel, he smiled broadly and walked over.

"Aaah, I thought that I lost my towel, arigatou Saemi-chan, for finding it for me. I took so long to squeeze it dry."

"What do you mean by 'dry'?"

"I just finished squeezing it free of my sweat."

Mitsui watched his cousin's face turn a sickly shade of green and laughed, when she pouted in mock anger. Deciding to ignore the evil look he received from her, he gazed in the general direction of the freshmen, who, with the exception of Hanamichi, were cleaning the floor and stated loudly, "A bunch of year ones could never hope to beat us, especially not with me around."

As punches started flying at him, he grabbed Saemi's hand and made a break for the door, ignoring the cries of protest from her. Once outside, he put his hands behind his head and basked in the glow of the setting sun. On the way home, Mitsui pedalled leisurely, with Saemi perched in front of him, humming softly to himself. 

An insistent voice jarred him out of his daydream, "Hisa-kun, we'll never reach your house at this rate!" = How dare she say that, when I'm the one who's doing all the work and she's relaxing =

"Well, I can see that someone's been eating loads of good food, from the way she's so weighs a ton."

"Yamenka do'aho! Anata yakamashii!"

Like siblings, their cheerful bickering could be heard all the way home, much to the annoyance of Mitsui's neighbours, for despite her size, Saemi's voice could travel very far. It had been so long since they had last had the opportunity to catch up on each other's lives and judging from the wide smiles on their faces, those few years when they were separated had not in the least harmed their friendship.

^___^ owari ^___^

Hope you enjoyed reading the story minna-san, feel free to review and give suggestions, I'm always open to new ideas. Anyway, another new story is in the pipeline so don't be too surprised if I don't continue this story for a long time. By the way, have any of you tried out the Slam Dunk compatibility test? I think it was created by Jem, ( its on http://sg.geocities.com/sd_ff ) … Its pretty fun and I think she was really brilliant to create it! 


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